After having learned of their magical affinities Asher and Hazel had been shown a few basic applications of their abilities. Edmund had shown Hazel a method for painting her shield with her mana. Edmund explained that it would reinforce the structure of the shield as well as magically dull the force of strikes caught by the shield. 

“It might just save you from a broken arm.” He joked as he demonstrated the muffling effect by striking the shield with his palm.

“I didn’t feel that at all.” Hazel sounded honestly baffled by the experience. 

Asher’s application was even more straightforward. Edmund explained that simply by stoking the flow of the mana he channelled through his body, Asher would be able to easily heal minor wounds and supplement his stamina.

Shame reared its ugly head once again, clashing with Asher’s excitement at learning to use his magic. Here he was, standing in the gentle evening sun outside the forest which likely held his kidnapped brother and instead of rushing in immediately, he was sitting around and fulfilling his dreams of learning magic. 

                “You don't need to beat yourself up like that Ash.” Hazel said. 

Asher started; he hadn’t been aware she had been watching him.  “I feel like I’ve wasted too much time in getting here, we need to move on” He responded after a moment. His expression was grim from the weight of his thoughts. 

“We are doing what we can, if we rushed straight in as soon as we got here, I think we would be dead already. The fact that we have made it this far in the first place, that we are even able to attempt a rescue, is a miracle.” Hazel’s voice softened as she continued. Keep your head up, we’re almost there kid.” She placed a hand on Asher’s shoulder and squeezed encouragingly. 

Asher tried to smile in response but found it difficult to muster the energy. “I’ll work on it. I think I’ll feel better once we are moving again. “ 

Hazel smiled back gently, only for the expression to drop a moment later. She looked at him again, this time concern played across her face. 

“What is it?” He asked, seeing her expression shift. 

“It’s... nothing, don’t worry about it.” The smile was back, as if it had never faltered. 

Asher examined his friend's expression trying to puzzle out what she had been about to say. He thought that perhaps he knew what she had been thinking. 

“Look, I know it’s possible that he might already be gone… I don’t really want to think about that but I’m also not in denial.  I just want you to know that, even in the worst-case scenario, I can handle myself at least until we are safe again. I won't abandon you in this place. Whatever happens to me, we are sticking together.” Asher looked at the floor as he spoke, struggling to make eye contact while speaking with such sincerity. 

Hazel smiled, this time Asher could tell, it was genuine. 

His heart skipped a beat. Had Hazel always looked so pretty when she smiled?

Asher, feeling uncomfortable, turned and saw that Edmund had placed a hand over his heart and closed his eyes. “Touching. Truly touching.” He said. “In other news, I do believe we are ready to cross over into the dark.” 

The trio stood and faced the woods. “So, do you have a plan to find the goblins in there?” Hazel asked Edmund. 

“Nope.” He responded glibly. 

“Edmund!” Hazel was clearly fed up with Edmund’s casual carelessness. 

“Please...” Edmund began to reply. “Call me Ed. We are much too close for full names now.”  

Hazel rolled her eyes and groaned in response. 

“I brought us to their territory, how am I to do more?” He replied. “These woods are infamous for their chaos, the beasties living in there are in constant conflict, the borders are in constant flux.  Honestly, this place might as well just be a black hole in our maps.”  Edmund stared into the woods as he spoke, as if peering long enough would reveal something new.

Edmunds words painted an even bleaker picture than Asher could have even guessed. 

“Let’s go. Before I think about what you just said too much.” Asher said, only half joking. 

***

Stepping into the forest felt surreal. Barely five paces in and it felt like they had somehow straight into the middle of the night. The warmth of the sun had fled just as fast as its light had. The sudden change left Asher feeling cold, vulnerable, and worst of all, blind.  

Following close behind Edmund, Asher was left pondering the grim reality of what lay ahead, a fight for their lives was almost certain. He tried to imagine what it would look like if they were attacked out here, their assailants hidden in the dark. With a pit in his stomach, he slowly came to the realization that he honestly couldn't picture their group mounting a worthwhile defence. Neither he or Hazel’s mana had obvious offensive applications, and Edmund seemed an intelligent well-connected guy, but he hadn't particularly come across as a powerhouse to Asher’s eye. 

He pictured the goblins that had attacked his home, and he despaired. He could heal himself over and over, but where was the worth in that if he couldn't fight back? If he couldn't do anything to retaliate, healing would only work to extend his suffering.  

There was a sudden slap on Asher’s back and he realized after a moment that Edmund had fallen back to walk between Asher and Hazel and he had clapped both on the back. 

“Buck up friends, listen to me and understand that you are being unnaturally influenced by this place. Do not despair! Remember you are here with my support. You can do this!” 

                Edmund’s words were charged with his typical sunny energy which, in the context of this gloomy forest, felt somehow more significant to Asher. Looking around he saw that Hazel had a distant look in her eyes which was fading back to normal as he watched. Her eyes darted around re-examining their surroundings with suspicion. The meaning of Edmund’s words only really began to dawn on him in that moment. 

                “Wait, what do you mean we were being influenced? By what?” He asked, shaking his head in an effort to clear the fog from his mind.

                “You two both had a clear distant look in your eyes, as if you had fallen asleep walking. I imagine you were falling into some pretty bleak mindsets, huh? These woods have an energy to them which can affect unprotected minds. My apologies, I hadn’t realised that your resistances would be so low, Likely due to you only just inheriting access to your mana recently. Normally the influence wouldn't be a problem for anyone older than 5 or 6.” Edmund replied. 

“Dammit Edmund! We have barely touched magic, of course we don’t have any resistance!” Hazel shouted as she allowed her frustrations to boil over and spill out. “From now on how about you warn us of all possible threats and leave us to decide if it's dangerous or not.”

Edmund faltered, his smile falling away for perhaps only the second time that Asher had seen. The mask had fallen. 

“I am sorry.” He replied simply. “I will do better.” 

“It’s fine, that was just… really intense.” Hazel replied after having recovered somewhat. 

Asher couldn’t blame Hazel for her frustration, if he were being honest, he was still tamping down his own anger. Yet Edmund’s response had thrown Asher off balance. He had thought that Edmund was treating all of this as a bit of fun, a distraction from his boring aristocratic life. Seeing his sombre and heartfelt response to Hazel’s concerns implied a level of sincerity that shocked him all over again. Perhaps there was more to this half elf than Asher had expected, perhaps his big persona covered something more honest, more real. Asher was beginning to feel truly grateful that they had met this man when they had. 

Realizing this, Asher made a decision. He stepped back and wrapped an arm around Edmund, pulling him in close. “Come on Ed, It’s not so big a deal. Just give us a heads-up next time.” Asher said with a warm smile. “We forgive you, right Haze? “ 

“Uhh… Sure.” She replied with a forced smile. 

The light returned to Edmunds eyes as if it had never left. Smiling once more he took Asher into an unexpected hug. “You called me Ed!” He cried “You called me Ed!” He repeated the words as if he couldn’t believe them. Edmund broke away from the hug and, as if nothing had ever happened, he returned to his place at the head of the group and began leading them once more. 

                Asher and Hazel met each other's eyes, brows raised, in what was quickly becoming a tradition for them as they dealt with Edmund’s strange outbursts.